Return of the Jedi

London, August 22

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A goal by Romelu Lukaku on his second Chelsea debut and a strike by defender Reece James earned the Blues a 2-0 win at London rivals Arsenal today, their second victory in as many games at the start of the Premier League season.

Lukaku, who never scored a league goal for the Blues in his first spell, needed only 15 minutes to get off the mark for the Blues after his reported £97.5 million transfer from Inter Milan, tapping in a cross played into his path by James. The wingback scored Chelsea’s second goal 20 minutes later, taking his time to fire past goalkeeper Bernd Leno after being found in acres of space by Mason Mount.

Nuno’s Spurs tame Wolves

Wolverhapmton: Harry Kane came off the bench to make his first Tottenham Hotspur appearance of the season as Dele Alli’s penalty earned coach Nuno Espirito Santo a 1-0 win on his return to his former club Wolverhampton Wanderers. The result means Spurs have won two from two so far this season, both by 1-0 scoreline.

Meanwhile, Manchester United were held 1-1 by Southampton.

Depay the saviour for Barca

Barcelona: Memphis Depay showed just why coach Ronald Koeman urged Barcelona for months to sign the Netherlands striker after scoring with a blistering strike to help his team avoid their first defeat of the post-Messi era with a 1-1 draw.

Depay’s goal from a tight angle came with Barcelona playing poorly against an Athletic Bilbao team inspired by having some fans in the stands of San Mames for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The draw at Bilbao came after Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 4-2 last weekend in their first match since the club had to let Lionel Messi walk away to sign for Paris Saint-Germain.

Inter put 4 past Genoa

Milan: New Inter Milan signing Hakan Calhanoglu scored one goal and set up another as the Nerazzurri got their Serie A title defence off to a winning start with a 4-0 victory at home to Genoa.

Calhanoglu, who joined from city rivals AC Milan on a free transfer, set up Milan Skriniar’s opener and doubled tally in the 14th minute. Arturo Vidal and Edin Dzeko also scored. — Agencies